Matterson takes positives from Tigers loss - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Matterson takes positives from Tigers loss

21/03/2011 03:12:21 PM Comments (0)

Former NSW Origin lock Terry Matterson believes his Castleford Tigers can take plenty of positives from their narrow Super League defeat to the Bradford Bulls.

Coach Matterson's Tigers' missed out on the chance to go top of the table as they lost their 100 per cent start to the season, going down 18-14 to the Bulls at Odsal Stadium on Sunday.

Ex-St George Illawarra Dragon Rangi Chase crossed for the Tigers but two second-half tries from Bulls prop Nick Scruton and three goals from Kiwi Patrick Ah Van sealed Castleford's fate.

Matterson also lost skipper Danny Orr with a shoulder injury midway through the second half, but the Brisbane Broncos player from the 1990s insists his players will have no problems getting back on track.

"Everyone was saying how long will the run continue and questioning if we can do it away from home, we've gone away and lost but there was a lot of good stuff out there," Matterson said.

"But we'll move on and get back to our ground and hopefully get back to winning ways next week.

"I thought we were very courageous but not quite as smart as we have been.

"I knew Bradford would bounce back and we were prepared for that. We had a fair few opportunities.

"I thought our scrambling defence was great but we gave them too much ball in the first half and in the second half losing Danny Orr disrupted us."

Meanwhile, Warrington Wolves assistant coach Willie Poching insists the acid test is yet to come after his side routed Harlequins 82-6.

Former NSW fullback Brett Hodgson racked up 30 points for the Wolves who collectively ran in 14 tries to romp to the top of the table.

The Wolves, coached by former St George Dragons lock Tony Smith, fell just short of the Super League record victory, set by the Bulls when they trounced Salford City Reds 96-16 in 2000.

But Poching, the current head coach of the Samoa national team, has told those tipping the Wolves for the title to judge them on their performance against defending champions Wigan, who downed Huddersfield Giants 20-6 this weekend, when they meet on Friday.

"There was no let-up and that was one of the pleasing things," he said. "We've got a short turnaround and the players know what's required.

"The players were professional and I think they will be professional in their preparation for next week against Wigan.

"They understand how hard the opponents will be but we will put a plan together this week."

Meanwhile, Royce Simmons was full of praise for his young St Helens charges after they finally hit their stride under the former Wests Tigers assistant with an impressive 30-16 win over Leeds Rhinos.

The suspension of Bath-bound Kyle Eastman threatened to disrupt Saints' preparations but after what was arguably their most impressive performance since Simmons took the helm, the ex-New South Wales hooker was a happy man.

"They just got on with life," said Simmons.

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